AJAC Announces Winners of the 2018 Innovation Awards
AJAC (Automobile Journalists Association of Canada) have announced the winners of the 2018 Innovation Awards at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto. Originally called the Technology awards in years past, the Innovation Awards are being given out for the first time in 2018 and are made to recognize the very best and most innovative examples of new automotive technologies available to the Canadian market. The awards are judged by a panel of 9 automotive journalists who all specialize in technology. The judges first review briefs on all entries submitted and from there established a short list of finalists in each category. Once the finalists were selected, the journalists were subjected to a day of presentations and questioning by the manufacturers’ representatives where they then casted a secret ballot to determine the winners. Three categories are now included in the awards including Best Green Innovation, Best Safety Innovation and Best Technical Innovation.
In the Best Green Innovation category, Toyota’s Gas Injection Heat Pump System Design beat out Lexus’ multi-stage hybrid system and Chevrolet Regen-on-Demand System to be named the winner. In short, the Gas Injection Heat Pump System helps boost cold-weather driving range in plug-in hybrids and other electrified vehicles and is currently found in the Toyota Prius Prime. This addresses one of the biggest challenges for electrified vehicles as cold weather causes batteries to work overtime to heat the cabin and can drastically reduce the vehicle’s range.
The Best Safety Innovation category saw Lexus and their Safety System + Advanced package (LSS+A) take home top prize, marking the second member of the Toyota/Lexus group to win an innovation award. The system has been newly introduced on the 2018 Lexus LS and incorporates a newly designed millimeter wave radar sensor, a stereo camera system, plus new yaw rate and steering sensors plus several new safety features to the already existing Lexus Safety System + (LSS+) bundle.
Finally, in the Best Technical Category Cadillac was named the winner with their Super Cruise Technology. The system is essentially an autonomous driving system meant specifically for highway driving and is available on 2018 CT6 models produced on September 6th of last year and later. The system requires the person in the driver’s seat attention at all times and even features a driver attention system that utilizes Cadillac’s proprietary head tracking software to help make sure your eyes remain on the road and will alert you when you need to pay closer attention or take back control.
